RM1.50 for 150ml of illicit samsu
GEORGE TOWN: For just RM1.50, one can get lost in a drunken stupor. But as it is only 150ml, the need to get high soon creeps in again.
Before the drinker knows it, he would have spent RM10 a day to nurse his alcohol addiction, said Consumer Association of Penang (CAP) president S.M. Mohamed Idris.
“Drinkers call it samsu but it is no longer the case anymore.
“These drinks are just alcohol, caramel, sugar and water.
“It’s poison. Cheap liquor has alcohol content from 17% up to an incredible 48%.
“We have seen families destroyed by it and drinkers suffer from damaged liver, heart ailments and even cancer,” he said yesterday.
Once commonly consumed by estate workers and village folk, Mohamed Idris said it was now popular in urban areas, even among youths and foreign workers.
He claimed that slack enforcement had led to samsu being sold in sundry shops like candy.
“A licence is required to sell samsu but demand is great and so some shops don’t even bother to apply for a licence and get away with it,” he said.
Whenever CAP discovers samsu sold illegally, Mohamed Idris said it reported to the Royal Malaysian Customs Department.
“We have been doing it since 1993, and yet it continues to be sold illegally,” he said.
Given the recent cases of lethal methanol poisoning, Mohamed Idris called for strict enforcement against the sale of illegal samsu and wants mandatory jail terms slapped on unlicensed sellers.
He also called on the public not to rely on the authorities.
“If you see sundry shops in your community selling cheap liquor, you must speak up and ask the shopkeeper if he is licensed,” he said.